The Ed Psych Practice

Terms and Conditions

The Ed Psych Practice hopes that its services will be experienced positively, providing, wherever possible, answers to questions and suggestions on how to move forward. The assessment, screening and consultation exercises are key elements of understanding an individual's strengths and difficulties in order to plan appropriate action. The focus of the overall process is always the individual and it is this person's interests that will be put first. In order to obtain a balanced picture, it is helpful to have background information from home, school, and other professionals. However, no contact will be made with others without prior permission from clients and, as explained in our data protection statement, no information will be released without prior permission.

The following Terms and Conditions are designed to describe fully the operation of The Ed Psych Practice's services to minimise the potential for misunderstanding.

The Ed Psych Practice will:

1.

1. arrange a suitable assessment, screening or consultation for the client¹ with a consultant at The Ed Psych Practice.
2. arrange an assessment, screening or consultation for the client that is relevant to the reason for referral and within the area of The Ed Psych Practice's expertise.
3. where appropriate, request completion of suitable questionnaires covering background information and, if appropriate, request additional information from relevant professionals relating to the reason for referral.
4. under circumstances when a client does not provide us with a parent and school questionnaire, then the practice and the consultant is not liable for any evidence being missed that would have supported the child being assessed.
5. in instances where there are no parent or school views, the consultant's views presented in the report, will include outcomes and conclusions from observations of the client on the day of the assessment.
6. ensure that when a client is individually assessed, they will receive provisional, verbal feedback from the consultant within a few days of the assessment if not on the day.
7. provide reports within four weeks of the assessment. Individual assessments may highlight the client's cognitive strengths and weaknesses, offer advice on appropriate learning and coping strategies, and give information on sources of appropriate teaching and advice/support etc, where relevant. Where appropriate, reports will be circulated to both purchasers and clients. If a client needs the report before the four week deadline, this needs to be discussed with the Office at the time of booking the appointment.
8. arrange for assessments and screenings to be performed in a suitable assessment room (when taking place in The Ed Psych Practice's premises)
9. provide waiting area facilities. However it should be noted that The Ed Psych Practice office staff cannot be held responsible for the supervision of children on The Ed Psych Practice premises whilst their parents are in discussion with the consultant. If your child requires supervision please bring an adult along with you for the assessment.
10. attend to any queries about reports as quickly as possible.

2.

1. in all of its dealings, conform to UK laws concerning the processing and information and civil rights of the client being assessed²
2. enable and support its consultants to apply their professional codes of conduct/ethics at all times when engaging with their clients.
3. monitor and maintain acceptable standards of quality from its consultants.
4. arrange for educational and psychological/language/occupational assessments, and ensure that these are performed only by appropriately qualified consultants.

3. The Ed Psych Practice reserves the right to terminate, or not to accept, a referral, or not circulate a report, if:

1. the referral appears to be outside its area of expertise.
2. there is an apparent conflict of interest between relevant parties.
3. any relevant parties are in, or intend to be in, dispute.
4. the Ed Psych Practice's status could be compromised if there are current legal or tribunal proceedings that may be affected by The Ed Psych Practice's involvement.
5. it cannot provide the report in the time required.
6. the fee has not been paid at the required time.
7. a consultant decides to terminate their involvement for any just reason.
8. the assessment is for tribunal or medico legal purposes.
9. the client being assessed fails to comply with any of the conditions stated above and in this document where such failure could compromise the validity of the assessment.

In the case of termination or non-acceptance of a referral or non-circulation of a report, under sub-clauses a, b, c, d, e, f, g, and h, i above, and if a fee has already been received, the assessment fees shall be returned to the client/purchaser less with a 15% administrative fee for administrative services provided up to termination of appointment.

4. The commissioner/purchaser (if not the client being assessed) will:

1. complete and return relevant questionnaires, or other pertinent information, when requested to do so.
2. use reports for the sole purpose of attending to the needs of the client being assessed.
3. pay fees when requested to do so by The Ed Psych Practice and agree to pay the full fee for appointments cancelled without notification of prior warning or good cause. The Ed Psych Practice prefers that payment be made via one paying agent only.
4. respect the confidential status of reports and conform to the regulations of the Data Protection Act 1998.
5. agree with the client being assessed, in advance of the assessment, the reason for referral to The Ed Psych Practice and obtain the client's agreement to proceed with the assessment.
6. agree with the client being assessed, in advance of The Ed Psych Practice's involvement and the arrangements for distribution of reports. The report will not be circulated to other parties without the client's consent.

5. The client being assessed will:

• be punctual for the assessment. If a client is running late, the consultant needs to be informed. Waiting charges for the consultant will be part of the session cost.
• confirm with the consultant performing an assessment if any confidential information given verbally or through relevant questionnaires should not be divulged in the report.
• inform the consultant if he/she has received any assessment in the past that may have a bearing on the assessment to be performed
• inform The Ed Psych Practice prior to the assessment of any personal, health or other factors that may influence the assessment to be performed
• bring with them any hearing aids and prescription spectacles/coloured overlays if it is the client’s normal way of working.
• complete and return relevant questionnaires or other pertinent information when requested to do so
• not use or circulate the report for any other purpose than for what it is intended
• respect the confidential status of the report and conform to the regulations of the Data Protection Act 1998
• where applicable, agree with the commissioner/purchaser of the assessment, in advance of the assessment, the reason for referral to The Ed Psych Practice and give their written agreement to proceed with the assessment
• once final report submitted to clients, only factual information can be updated. No evidence based information will be altered; after one month of final report
• agree to all of the above terms and conditions

6. Description of Consultation Sessions at The Ed Psych Practice:

• Consultants: hourly rates with Consultants (Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists, Psychotherapists) will include face to face contact with clients, email & telephone consultations after the first face to face meeting, any visits to the school/home, discussions with school staff and relevant professionals as appropriate. Depending on the length of the case, there will be a report writing charge (minimum 3 hours) if requested and if appropriate.
• A 48 hour notice is required if an hourly rate client wishes to cancel or reschedule an agreed appointment. This needs to be done either by leaving a voice message on the office mobile (during office hours 9:30 – 5:00 pm) or via email. If Monday appointments need to be cancelled or rescheduled, the consultant needs to know by 4:00 pm on Thursday the previous week. If no such notification is received and a client fails to turn up for the session, the client will be charged for the duration of the booked session. There will be exceptional unforeseen circumstances where it is not possible to give advance notice and this will be dealt with on a case by case basis by The Ed Psych Practice.
• Some assessments may be subject to a travel charge. This is for school and home consultations.. Travel rates will be charged at half the hourly agreed consultant fee.
• Some assessments are subject to fixed assessment fees such as assessments carried out by Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists, and Occupational Therapists. We do give you feedback after the assessment and also 1 free consultation via telephone for a maximum of 30 minutes. Any further consultations will require the client to make a telephone or face to face appointment with the consultant which will be charged at the practice hourly rate.

7. Payments and Cancellation for all clients:

• clients will pay the fee when requested to do so by The Ed Psych Practice and agree to pay 50% of the full fee for appointments cancelled without notification or prior warning of good cause if not cancelled within 14 days before the appointment.
• If an assessment has been booked and paid or partially paid and the client cancels the appointment at anytime, The Ed Psych Practice will refund the assessment fee less a 15% administrative fee.
• at times certain assessments requested by a third party might involve further testing depending on results on the day of the assessment. When further testing is required, this will be discussed by the third party with the client. The Ed Psych Consultant will also explain why the additional tests are necessary. Further testing will only be carried out when the client is in agreement with the third party. The additional costs of the assessment will be charged at practice hourly rates or a fixed fee which will be met by the client on top of the agreed fees with the third party. A separate invoice will be sent for this which needs to be settled before the report can be sent to clients and the third party.
• unless funded by a third party, clients will pay the assessment fees on receipt of the Invoice, to confirm the appointment. Reports will not be released until full payment is received.
• an invoice will be sent on a monthly basis to all hourly rate clients along with a time sheet. All payments need to be cleared within 7 days of the invoice. If invoices are not cleared the consultant will not release reports or may have to terminate therapeutic/consultative support. In certain circumstances if we are working along with the school, we will have to inform them about our decision.
• a monthly invoice will be sent to schools who buy in services from The Ed Psych Practice. Sometimes an invoice will be sent after an agreed piece of work. Payments need to be made within 7 days of the invoice.
• payment can be made using debit or credit cards over the phone or via bank transfer. Please note, payments made by American Express are not accepted.
• payment can be made by Telephone Banking or BACS. All payment options and account details are in the invoice or available on request
• if clients are unable to pay the fees of the assessment and services offered prior to the initial appointment, please contact office on 07833447356 or 07990538654
• if payments are not cleared within 7 days of the invoice, a reminder will be issued to you. If the payment is not cleared within the next 21 days, the client details will be shared with Credit Agency's and further charges will be added which will be met by the client.

8. General Conditions

• This agreement is personal to you and may not be transferred by you to another other person without our express written consent. Only you can enforce these T&Cs, although you can enforce them in respect of a child who has made use of our services in accordance with these Terms and Conditions. We reserve the right to employ sub-suppliers to fulfil our rights and obligations under these T&Cs.
• This Contract, and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with it or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, English law, and the parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

1. A 'client' being assessed can be an adult, young person or a child. Where the client being assessed is a child, i.e. under the age of 16 years, the client's parent(s)/ carer(s) will usually be considered as the client for the purpose of confirming these Terms and Conditions. Generally, young persons aged 16-17 are entitled to the same duty of confidence as adults. Therefore, their parent(s)/carer(s) should explain and discuss with them in advance the reason for the assessment and obtain their agreement to proceed within the conditions of the above Terms and Conditions. Where children do not have the capacity and understanding, decisions to share information may be taken by a person with parental responsibility in consultation with the professional involved. A client can also be the purchaser of The Ed Psych Practice's services.
2. In particular, the Data Protection Act 1998, Disability Discrimination Act 2005 and Article 8, (right to private life), Human Rights Act 1998